RVO Business Story. PharmaNL: Boosting Innovation and Talent

News June 26, 2025

With the National Growth Fund, the government is investing over €11 billion in 50 projects that contribute to the sustainable earning capacity of the Netherlands. Ultimately, we all benefit from long-term economic growth with positive social effects. Through the series ‘Projects in Practice,’ the National Growth Fund showcases concrete results. On June 26, 2025, they published the following case study about PharmaNL.

he pharmaceutical industry in the Netherlands enjoys a strong reputation—consider, for instance, the development of the birth control pill by Organon in Oss. Looking ahead, there is great potential to develop new medicines locally, enhancing our quality of life. The National Growth Fund project PharmaNL is creating the right conditions to realize this potential by investing in shared R&D infrastructure and lifelong learning opportunities.

Brigitte Drees, a board member of PharmaNL and CEO of Pivot Park in Oss—a campus where innovative biopharma companies collaborate closely—explains: “What we’ve built in Oss is now being scaled nationwide through PharmaNL. We’re developing shared infrastructure to support the development, scaling, and production of innovative medicines. This includes expensive equipment accessible to start-ups, scale-ups, and academic research groups. That’s vital, because pharmaceutical innovation often comes from SMEs—small organizations that typically can’t afford their own high-end equipment. With shared infrastructure, they can immediately start working on their innovations.”

Attracting and Training Professionals

In addition to shared infrastructure, PharmaNL has a second program line focused on talent development and pharmaceutical education. “We’re promoting lifelong learning for both future and current professionals—nationally and internationally,” says Drees. “With the expected labor shortages, we need to attract more people to this innovative sector that’s committed to improving quality of life through medicine. European accreditation of vocational (MBO), applied sciences (HBO), and university programs allows people across Europe to participate.”

Six Projects Already Funded

To support these two program lines, PharmaNL and ZonMw have developed a grant program funded by the National Growth Fund. Knowledge institutions, businesses, and partnerships can submit proposals annually. “With Growth Fund support, we’ve already approved three projects for each program line,” says Drees. “In total, 15 organizations are now involved. We expect to reach our goal of engaging 50 organizations from across the pharmaceutical value chain.”

Accelerating Nanomedicine Development

One of the three funded infrastructure projects is Nanoworx—a collaboration between TU Eindhoven, Pivot Park, Trained Therapeutix Discovery, and Unchained Labs. “We focus on nanomedicine—tiny particles with therapeutic properties,” says project initiator Willem Mulder. “Nanomedicine, especially in immunotherapy, holds huge promise. But to develop these medicines, you need libraries to screen nanoparticles and identify the best properties for clinical use. These libraries help generate drug formulations effective at very low doses, such as for cancer treatment. Such resources are typically unavailable to small innovative companies, slowing their development process. Nanoworx addresses this gap by offering biotech firms and research groups a screening platform to automate, speed up, and refine their nanomedicine development.”

SMEs: Driving Pharma Innovation

Nanoworx is still a small team. “But with PharmaNL’s support, we now have the equipment to develop our screening platform,” says Mulder. “In five years, we aim to grow into an independent operation with our own infrastructure.” This shows how a good idea—supported by TU Eindhoven—can evolve into a successful start-up with global reach. Drees adds: “This is a great example of translating academic research into a thriving business. And it’s worth remembering: SMEs are the true innovation engine of the pharmaceutical sector—a billion-euro industry that not only improves health and well-being worldwide, but also significantly contributes to the Dutch economy.”

Source: National Growth Fund
Picture: Brigitte Drees and Willem Mulder. Source: RVO